Indian Country gathered in San Diego last week for the annual meeting of the National Indian Gaming Association and its Indian Gaming 2017 trade show and conference. The event included a large trade show and a full conference program that was more well attended than in previous years.
The popular ribbon cutting included rock legend KISS front-man and business entrepreneur Gene Simmons, Native American actor Martin Sensmeier; professional basketball legends A.C. Green and Bill Walton; American Gaming Association (AGA) President and CEO Geoff Freeman; National Indian Gaming Commission (NIGC) Chairman Jonadev Chaudhuri and the NIGA board of directors.
At the NIGA members meeting, Chairman Ernie Stevens was re-elected and will continue to serve into his 17th year.
The Tim Wapato Sovereign Warrior Award was presented to Joel Frank, a distinguished tribal and community advocate of the Seminole Tribe of Florida. Frank played a significant role in bringing the NIGA team together to create a powerful tribal government gaming presence in Washington, D.C.
Vendors brought their A-game to NIGA.
Aristocrat featured its new RELM cabinet, including eight new titles: The Golden Tree, Sun Gold Temple, Cash 7, Burning 7, Double White Hot Gold, Emeralds & Sapphires, Double Gold Spin, and Triple Wildfire Double.
Konami Gaming presented a comprehensive lineup of the latest Concerto Collection games at the NIGA tradeshow. Attendees viewed Konami’s top games of the year including proven progressive innovations, original never-before-seen base games, and premium releases from Konami’s iconic video game legacy. Leading new systems highlights spanning everything from SYNKROS Offers Management to the SYNKROS Dashboards business intelligence suite. Most impressive was the debut of The world’s first Castlevania themed slot machine. Castlevania is showcased on Konami’s curved Concerto Crescent cabinet and includes exciting bonus adventures that invite players to journey through Dracula’s castle and battle various dark monsters for their chance at jackpot victory
Interblock exhibited its latest luxury ETG innovations, including Diamond Video Blackjack with new side bets and a virtual dealer, Multi-game StarBar bar tops, Big Six and MiniStar
The AGS stand, which carried the theme “Play Harder, Play Smarter,” showcased award-winning products including the new Orion premium cabinet and the table-game side-bet wheel Bonus Spin, along with new table game titles including Dai Bacc and the company’s white-label social casino solution, Social WLC.
Scientific Games demonstrated new solutions to empower player engagement and operating efficiencies while driving revenue. From its games portfolio, the company will display entertaining new game titles on a variety of its leading slot platforms, demonstrating the breadth of its library for all types of players and every size of casino. The entire TwinStar family of industry-leading cabinets, along with an array of game content, will be on display, including the TwinStar, TwinStar Slant and the newest additions—the TwinStar J43 with a unique, J-curved portrait monitor; and the new mechanical-reel TwinStar 3RM.
IGT showcased a range of premium solutions on new and proven hardware solutions, including the award-winning Sphinx 4D game on the CrystalCurve True 4D cabinet offers a multi-sensory experience that enhances its glasses-free 3D technology; The Voice Video Slots on the CrystalCurve ULTRA cabinet; the Fort Knox Diamond Vault Video Slots; and themes from IGT’s True 3D product portfolio such as the ZUMA 3D, Jurassic World 3D, and Return of the Sphinx 3D games. Also on display was the Wheel of Fortune Gold Spin Triple Gold Slots on IGT’s large format mechanical reel Megatower cabinet, which stands 11 feet tall and the Super Red Hot Jackpots four-level linked progressive game on the award-winning S3000 cabinet, available in three different themes. Jackpot 7s Slots, Sizzling 7 Slots and Double Sizzling 7s Slots put a new twist on the classic five-reel, 20-payline game.
Tribal gaming customers experienced Novomatic’s V.I.P. cabinets—Novostar V.I.P. Royal, Novostar V.I.P. II and V.I.P. Lounge—as well as the Dominator Curve. These were presented alongside a variety of new slot content, electronic table games and interactive tournament offerings.
Leading the Merkur Gaming lineup was the unique slant-top concept Avantgarde and its latest evolution, the Avantgarde Trio, alongside the ultra-modern Merkurstar upright cabinet. The cabinets house the best of Merkur Gaming’s huge game library, according to the company. Highlights include the volatile Greek-themed Zentaurus, a five-reel, 20-line game featuring multiplying wilds and scatter awards; and Deep Sea Treasure, an underwater adventure theme in a three-reel, 30-line game.
